Voicemail
by SPNxBookworm
Summary: Season 4 finale. Lucifer rising. Dean left Sam a voice mail. Sam received an altered version. Will Sam and Dean be able to solve their misunderstanding, or will it result in something more sinister? Featuring vulnerable!Sam and Protective!Dean. Brotherly moments once again are inevitable ;) Enjoy!


**A/N: Thanks for all the amazing reviews everyone! Y'all make my day! :D Keep 'em coming! This is just something that popped up in my head. I LOVE the show so don't get me wrong. In season 4 finale, Lucifer rising, there is the scene where Dean leaves Sam a message apologizing for everything. Sam get's the message but it ends up being an altered one. I'm guessing it was altered either by Ruby or Zachariah, I'm leaning more onto Zachariah as he would have seen Dean make the call. And because, technically, he wanted Lucifer out of hell so that an all out angel war would take place. -_- But on the other hand, while Sam is hearing the altered message, Ruby can be seen smirking in the background, so it could easily have been her too. Take it anyway you want. :) **

**I'm just kind of disappointed that they never addressed the phone message part in any of the upcoming episodes. And I'm sure it would have resulted in an all time brotherly moment! And who doesn't love the chick-flick moments? ;)**

**So….here it is! :D (Rated T just to be safe)**

* * *

Who starts a goddamn apocalypse? Who the hell trusts a demon? Yeah, right. Me. Thought Sam. Guilt, pain, horror, shame, more guilt. It was tearing at him. After all that had been taught to him by his father, John, and honed to more than perfection with the help of his big brother, Dean, how could he have been so blind? How did he manage to let a f~~king demon brainwash him into believing he could save the world? True, no one would have thought that killing Lilith was actually the final seal, and Sam only wanted to kill Lilith to get even with her for holding the contract to the demon deal and for sending his brother to hell. Alright, maybe it was more than that. But why did it matter anyway? Thanks to his all round stupidity and what not, he had given the world a death sentence.

Sam knew that no matter what Dean said, he was not forgiven. How could you forgive someone for starting the apocalypse, betraying your brother and downing gallons of demon blood to kill of the thing that would unlock Lucifer from hell? He took out his phone and played the message again.

_Listen to me, you bloodsucking freak. Dad always said I'd either have to save you or kill you. Well, I'm giving you fair warning. I'm done trying to save you. You're a monster, Sam - a vampire. You're not you anymore. And there's no going back._

Dean was right. He had turned into a monster. He remembered Chuck telling him that his eyes had turned black. Maybe he was going dark side after all. Sam was lost. He didn't know what to do. But right now he had to find a way to fix this. He would dwell on his crap later. With difficulty he managed to stuff all his thoughts deep in the box and clamp the lid shut, knowing that he would have to deal with it later.

He composed himself, and not a moment too soon. Dean walked in with the supplies and gave Sam a weird look. Sam couldn't quite read it, but he knew it was nothing good.

* * *

Dean walked out of the Impala and hurried towards their room. He managed to keep the groceries in hand and open the door without letting any of the bags slip through. As he walked in he saw Sam put on his mask like before. Usually, it was Dean who hid behind the mask, but ever since Lucifer popped the cage, Sam was retreating into his cover more than ever. What was more, Sam flinched every time Dean made a movement towards Sam or tried talking to him while he was lost in thought.

Dean was eating himself with worry. It looked like the kid was…scared, scratch that, terrified of Dean. Sam flinched like he was scalded with a hot poker every time Dean made a move that Sam did not expect. It pained Dean to see Sam react like this to him. It was not normal. Yeah, the kid did start a freaking apocalypse, but it wasn't his fault entirely. Dean just couldn't bring himself to ask Sam about it, and whenever he would try Sam would either leave the room, ignore him, or just clamp shut.

Sam had given the exact reaction as Dean had walked in and looked at Sam. Sam had flinched once again, looking wary. Dean had looked at Sam with confusion and bewilderment, but had masked the look seeing Sam trying to scrutinize his expression. Being brothers, there wasn't much they could hide from one another, but Dean just wanted to avoid the fighting that had been going on between them ever since the disaster had occurred.

"I found a case.", said Dean.

"Hmmm."

"Sam? Did you even hear what I just said?"

"What? Sorry, I was….never mind. Go on."

Shit. Sam had flinched yet again. Every time he did that, Dean felt helpless and clueless as to why Sam was so scared of him. Ignoring the thoughts, Dean continued.

"I found a case.", repeated Dean. "Since we are nowhere near to finding out how to stop Lucifer or the apocalypse, I thought we should check this out."

"Yeah, alright. So what's the case about?", said Sam, happy for a bit of distraction.

"It's just a simple salt and burn. I was at the pharmacy getting the meds we are short on, and I heard two guys talking."

"What did they say?"

"Apparently there's this family that died off just last week. At first the authorities thought it could be a heart attack as the first guy who died was more than 70 years old. I'm guessing he's the granddad. But then things started getting weird. The mom and her two kids were the next target. The mom died while taking a shower. The water turned so hot that it scalded her to death. And, the same night, the kids, one was 8 and the other was 12. They were in their bedroom, playing something I guess, and as far as the authorities could tell, they just stopped breathing and died right on the spot."

"Oh god. That's….", said Sam, horrified. No way that this could be natural causes. This had to be something supernatural.

"I know. But there's one more guy left and he might be the next target."

"Who is it?"

"The….the brother."

Shit. Dean knew that they had to get this case over with. He had hoped not to let Sam know this little detail if possible, with their already precarious and cliff hanging situation at the moment.

"Oh. Okay. Well, why is the, spirit I'm guessing, killing his own family?"

"I don't know. Guess we will find out won't we?"

"But how are you so sure that it's his brother that's doing all this? And the mom? Who was she to the deceased?"

"I did a bit of poking around after I heard about the deaths at the pharmacy. I flashed my badge, tracked down the survivor and he told me that he felt cold spots at the house and he could have sworn he saw his dead brother looking at the dead kids. He had walked into the room to see the kids dead and his brother standing over them. And well, as for the mom, she was the dead guy's wife."

"What?!"

"Yup. After a bit of talking with the brother, Don, he said that Russell, the dead brother, had committed suicide according to the authorities after his wife and kids left him. He was accused by his family of something he didn't mean to do, and they just slammed the door in his face and left. And guess who they went to?"

"Oh God. I'm going to guess Don?"

"Exactly. She went to Don with her kids and Dad."

"Okay. I get why Russell would, as a vengeful spirit kill his wife….and kids and father-in-law. But why would he kill Don?"

"Well…", Dean hesitated. He knew that this would hit Sam hard. It was kind of similar to their situation at the moment and he didn't want Sam getting the wrong idea about them.

"Well, what?", said Sam impatiently, evidently curious.

"Russell had thought that Don would have his back no matter what. But Don had seen that whether he had meant to do it or not, Russell had made a very grievous mistake and couldn't side with him no matter how much he wanted to. Don had tried all he could do to stop him from making that mistake but Russell never understood. Russell must think that Don doesn't trust him anymore. Russell made an appearance while I was talking with Don. All I could see was pain and sorrow in his eyes. He felt sorry for letting Don down. From what he kept saying, he killed his family for abandoning him. But he wants to kill Don to put him out of his 'misery'. He feels that Don shouldn't have to suffer the betrayal for his failures.", explained Dean, watching Sam intently.

Sam was silent. That was a bad sign, thought Dean.

Sam was going over everything in his head. This was so similar to their own situation. Was that the reason Dean took the case? Did he feel like Don? Did he want to convince himself that Sam is not worth it? After all, his voicemail pretty much summed it up. Sam was feeling hollow and pained. But they had to save Don, so putting on the mask he rarely ever sought, he agreed with Dean that they would go after dark and salt and burn the body.

* * *

Dean parked the Impala and he and Sam got out, took their shovels from the trunk along with the necessary arsenal incase Russell decided to make an appearance and made their way into the cemetery looking for his grave.

After about 25 minutes worth of searching, Sam finally called out to Dean having spotted the grave. Taking turns, they started digging up the grave. Finally, after what seemed like hours, during Dean's shift, the shovel hit wood. Sam got into the hole to help Dean open the coffin. Once it was open, Sam poured the lighter fluid and Dean salted the body. Dean then got out his lighter.

Just then, he felt himself fly through the air. He smacked his head on something hard. Black clouded his vision and he felt himself slipping. And a few more seconds, he was out.

"Dean!", shouted Sam. He saw Dean fly through the air, hit a large headstone and crumple. And the next second, Russell was advancing towards him.

_You betrayed. You betrayed. _

The words were tearing at Sam. Apparently Russell related himself to Sam. Sam was his next target. Don could wait.

_You betrayed your brother. You don't deserve to live. You should not let your brother suffer through your mistakes. You betrayed! _

Russell was advancing on Sam rapidly. Sam was rooted to the spot. He was held down by the words now raining down upon him. It was shattering him. The voicemail. Everything. Russell crossed the distance between them and closed his hand around Sam's throat.

Sam's gun slipped out of his hand. He was losing his vision due to lack of air. He struggled all he could against Russell, but was slowly losing. He was on the verge of passing out when a shot rang and the hands disappeared. Dean had saved him.

Without wasting any more time Dean took out his lighter and lit up the corpse. They waited for a few minutes until they were sure that Russell was gone. He called Don and found out that Russell had gone there, not to kill him but to apologize. He had apologized for everything and then he had burst into flames. Dean reassured Don that it was over. He then looked at Sam. Sam was alright. But his eyes said something else. Something had definitely broken inside him. He had not heard what Russell had told Sam but he knew it wasn't anything good.

"Sam, you alright?", said Dean, helping his brother up.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine Dean. Let's just get back to the motel."

* * *

Sam awoke drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. He had seen himself in Russell's place, advancing on Dean. He didn't know how that could ever be possible. He was sitting up in bed, and the next minute he rushed into the bathroom, locked the door and puked. As, he stood up and washed his face, he eyed the gun on the basin. Dean kept them stashed all along the room no matter where they went. It had come in handy many times. Sam picked up the gun and sat down on the bathroom floor. Why should he let Dean save his ass when he was not worth it? Why should he put Dean through all this crap when he wasn't even the one that started it? He couldn't take it anymore. He slowly held the gun to his temple.

Dean had heard Sam rush into the bathroom. A few seconds later he heard his brother retching. He was worried. He decided to give his brother a few minutes before going to him. It was suddenly too quiet though. Sam should have been out by now. He started to panic.

"Sam? Sam, you alright?" No answer. Now Dean was definitely panicking.

"Sammy? Answer me. Sammy!"

He heard sobbing from the other side of the door. He was full on terrified now.

"Sammy, I swear if you don't open this door, I'm going to bust in."

Sam was tired of it. He was openly sobbing now. It didn't matter how Dean saw him. He had to end it. He just had to.

Dean had taken enough. He took two steps back and charged with full force. As the door crashed open, he took in the sight and his heart skipped a beat.

"Sam! Sam. No. Please."

"I'm sorry Dean. I have to.", said Sam, tears falling down his face.

Dean kept his eye on the gun. "Sam. Please. Put the gun down. Don't do this to me please. I just got you back after a long time. Please Sam. Don't." Dean's eyes were starting to tear up. He was terrified of Sam pulling the trigger.

"I know Dean. But you don't need to suffer for my mistakes. You….you don't need to be the one to kill me. I can kill myself."

Dean felt as though he had been punched. What the hell was Sam talking about?

"I know you tried hard to save me. I know you're tired of it. I know you won't have the strength to do it yourself. So, I'm doing it for you."

"NO SAM! STOP PLEASE.", Dean was shouting now. He regretted it when he saw Sam flinch a mile and his hand tightened on the trigger.

"Sam…I'm sorry I yelled. Just please. Don't do this to me man. Please. I'm begging you.", Dean was crying now. He couldn't bear to lose Sam again. He just couldn't.

"But why, Dean? You were the one who said that you were done with me. That you were tired of saving my ass."

"What? I never said that Sam. What made you think I would ever say that?" Dean was bewildered, but glad that Sam was unknowingly lowering his gun.

"Yes you did. The voicemail you left me."

"What voicemail, Sam? I never said anything like that. I _would_ never say anything like that to you, man. You're my little brother. I'll always be there for you. You know that. Show me the voice message Sam. Please. Just lower the gun and show me the message."

Dean was relieved when Sam put the gun on the floor of the bathroom and made his way into the room. Dean followed Sam as he made his way to his bed, took out his phone from under his pillow and played a message.

_Listen to me, you bloodsucking freak. Dad always said I'd either have to save you or kill you. Well, I'm giving you fair warning. I'm done trying to save you. You're a monster, Sam - a vampire. You're not you anymore. And there's no going back_.

Shit. He never said anything like that. He felt exhausted. Finally able to understand why Sam flinched every time, and why he looked terrified of him. He had to fix this.

"Sam.", said Dean in a soothing tone. "When was this?"

"Just before…before I…before I doomed everyone."

"Sam. First, this isn't your fault. Okay maybe it is." , added Dean, seeing the disbelieving expression on Sam's face. "But you didn't mean for this to happen. No one knew that Lilith was the final seal. No one, Sam. And second, I never left you a voicemail like that. I….I'll show you."

Dean took out his phone. He opened is outbox for the sent voicemail and played it to Sam, tears running down his face.

_Look, I'll just get right to it. I'm still pissed... and I owe you a serious beatdown. But... I shouldn't have said what I said. You know, I'm not Dad. We're brothers. You know, we're family. And, uh... no matter how bad it gets, that doesn't change. Sammy, I'm sorry._

"Sammy. Believe me please. Why would I say something like that to you? After all the crap we have been through, we still looked out for each other. Why should this change anything? Sammy, please. I'm sorry. I really am. You don't need to be scared."

Sam finally understood. He broke. He leaned onto Dean and was openly sobbing now. Dean hugged him, silent tears running down his face too. He was talking soothingly to Sam, rocking back and forth slightly. After some time, Sam finally quieted down.

"I'm sorry Dean. It's just, Russell kind of had the same situation. He told me that you don't need to suffer for my mistakes. I was just trying to lessen your burden. That's all.", said Sam, looking straight at Dean.

"Dude. You are seriously an idiot, you know that? You going to listen to your big brother or a damn spirit?", said Dean, smiling slightly.

That did it. They both were laughing from relief and understanding. After the laughing stopped, the awkwardness came.

"Hey, Dean?", said Sam, breaking the silence.

"Yeah Sammy?"

"Thanks. And…"

"Yeah, Sammy, I know. It's okay.", said Dean, genuinely smiling now.

And as the sun began to rise, soft snores could be heard from both beds. Damn Lucifer and damn the apocalypse. Dean had Sam and Sam had Dean. Together, they could fight this. They were together and that's all that mattered to them.

**THE END**

**So….*grins mischievously***

**How was it? The story kind of changed half way while I was writing, but I liked this one better. :D Hope it was good enough. Do ignore any minor errors in grammar. If you spot any major mistakes then please let me know and I'll correct it! I try to correct as much as I can. And I love you all! Do leave reviews! Also, any prompts or requests are welcome. :) **


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